Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Biscoff Caramel Pretzel Bon Bons

OK, so this is how it all started. I had a bag of pretzel m&m's that I wanted to use. I didn't want to make cookies, I was thinking more along the lines of a ball. I know I wanted to use crushed pretzels. The pretzel/peanut butter combo has already been done, so I wanted to do something different. Biscoff and pretzels sounded good, but the combo had to be tested. Out came the jar of Biscoff and in I dipped the pretzel. Mmmm. We had a winner.

So I proceeded to crush the pretzels to tiny bits in the food processor. I measured out 2 cups and threw it in my stand mixer. I figured 1 cup of Biscoff would be enough to mix with the pretzels. Boy was I wrong. The consistency was too dry. I couldn't form it into balls. I didn't give up. Instead I walked over to the pantry to see what else I could use. Hmmm. Fluff! Yes, fluff works with almost anything. All right, I added 1 cup fluff. Nope not enough. 2 cups fluff? Still not enough. Darn it!

Think. That's what I did. How about melted butter? OK, I added 3 tbsp melted butter. Although the batter was slightly stickier, it still didn't hold well. Time to pull out the big guns. I went back to the pantry and found a jar of Granache caramel spread I brought back from Canada at Easter. I hadn't even opened it yet. Well, I was getting desperate. Into the batter went 1 cup of caramel spread. Finally the batter was the right consistency. But did it have the right flavor? Better than I expected. I couldn't wait to dip it in chocolate!

I also couldn't wait to try out my new toy. A cake pop mold from My Little Cupcake. I already had the cupcake pop mold and loved it. This one is even easier to use. Here is where the m&m's came into play. I filled half the mold with batter and pressed in the pretzel m&m and then packed on some more batter and closed the lid and squeezed out the extra.

I did end up with a lot of little bon bons from this recipe even though I was eating the batter all along. Sorry, but it was really good. For the coating I didn't have any dark chocolate candy melt on hand, so I used vanilla flavored and it worked out just fine.

But I wasn't done yet. These little beauties had to be decorated. I melted some of the caramel spread and vanilla candy melt together to drizzle over the tops. For toppings I used dark chocolate sprinkles, bits of left over pretzels, chopped walnuts and some I left with just the caramel drizzle. Don't they look purty?

Now it was time for another taste test. Just look at that bite. Oh goodness! How do I describe it? Well, if a Twix bar and a pretzel got together and had a baby, then this would be it. The sweet Biscoff blended with the salty pretzel and a hint of caramel and covered in chocolate was pure bliss. Just look at this guy, he agrees with me.

Biscoff Caramel Prezel Bon Bons

by The Sweet Chick

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Keywords: no bake dessert biscoff pretzels caramel dark chocolate

Ingredients (about 36 bon bons)

For the Bon Bons

2 cups crushed pretzels

1 cup Biscoff spread

2 cups marshmallow fluff

3 tbsp melted butter

1 cup caramel spread

For the Coating

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup vanilla flavored candy melt (or dark chocolate)

For the Drizzle

1/2 cup caramel spread

1/2 cup vanilla flavored candy melt

For the Toppings

dark chocolate sprinkles

chopped walnuts

pretzel bits

Instructions

In a food processor chop up the pretzels until you have 2 cups crushed pretzels.

Place the crushed pretzels in a stand mixer and add the Biscoff, fluff, melted butter and caramel. Mix well, until batter becomes a dough like consistency and can be molded.

Using your hands or a cake pop mold, shape the batter into balls and place on wax paper. Place the balls in the fridge for 1-2 hours until they are firm.

In a deep bowl, melt the chocolate chips and the candy melt together in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Stir well so there are no lumps.

Using a fork or a candy dipping tool, carefully dip the balls in the chocolate melt until well coated and then place on a clean wax paper until the chocolate hardens. If needed, place balls back in fridge for a few minutes.

Once chocolate is set, melt caramel and candy melt in microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and stir well until smooth. Place caramel in a frosting piping bag with tip or a ziplock bag snipped at the corner to drizzle the caramel over the balls. Sprinkle with toppings if desired.